On Thursday evening, No. 16 Indiana hosted UNC Greensboro in its final tune up before heading to the Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament inside of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers jumped all over the Spartans in the game's opening minutes, but had to grind out a victory as UNCG came back to tie the game in the second half.
Only two Hoosiers reached double figures as the Hoosiers picked up their fourth victory of the young season.
Here's how it happened on a snowy evening in Bloomington.
INDIANA NEVER TRAILED THROUGHOUT
In its first two buy games of the season against SIU-Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois, Indiana struggled to get out of the gates fast. Thursday evening was much different for Mike Woodson's team.
Right from the tip, Indiana was ready to play. Myles Rice hit a corner three on the Hoosiers' first possession and did not look back from there, starting the game on a 7-0 run and leading by as much as 16 in the first half.
The Hoosiers made 4 first-half threes while converting on all 8 of their attempts from the charity stripe and despite the lead evaporating in the second half, Indiana never found themselves trailing, leading for nearly 39 minutes.
Strong starts will be paramount as competition stiffens next week for the Hoosiers as they have played a much cleaner brand of basketball after fast starts.
RICE STAYS HOTÂ
Although it took two games to do so, Myles Rice has found his form and has solidified himself as Indiana's top offensive threat in the month of November.
Following a 21-point outburst on Saturday against South Carolina, Rice followed up with 20 points on Thursday evening, going 8-of-14 from the field and hitting a pair of first-half triples.
After dishing out just three assists on Saturday, it was an all-around performance for the redshirt sophomore, who added 6 assists and 5 rebounds in the victory.
The dual-threat nature of his game could potentially turn Rice one of the best guards in the Big Ten, if not the entire country as a whole.
TUCKER SHINES IN SECOND HALF
Despite it being an uninspiring game from the bench as a whole, when Indiana needed someone to take over, freshman Bryson Tucker stepped up and delivered. The lone member of Indiana's freshman class dazzled in the second half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Tucker utilized his quickness to get to his midrange spot and rise above his defender for easy jumpers.
The Bowie, Maryland native's near perfect second-half offensively was just a small piece of the pie. Tucker was spectacular defensively, collecting a steal and forcing tough shots and bad passes the entirety of the second half.
The McDonald's All-American finished with 14 points and 3 rebounds in his XX minutes on the floor in Thursday night's victory and will likely play a large role in Indiana's success next week in the Bahamas at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.
